Train hard, fight hard, diet easy

Train hard

Losing weight shouldnt be the reason you work out  it should be the result. A fighter is training for a purpose: he has a fight. But I dont train for one fight  I train for myself, all the time. So I eat whatever I want, St Pierre says. Normally, he weighs in at around 210lb (95kg) but in the weeks before a bout he halves his carb intake, cuts out all salt and drinks a lot of water. I step on the scales and boom, Im 170 (77kg).

Your body is a lethal tool. Use it

Use your body

“If a martial artist taught a gymnast jiu-jitsu, it would be much easier than the other way around,” says St Pierre. “Why? Because a gymnast has pushed his bodyweight around from every possible angle. His athleticism is on a different level.” St Pierre trains on the Olympic rings once a week, but any bodyweight move is the key to athletic strength. “It’s more useful than anything else and definitely more practical than weights.

Work harder to recover faster

Hit the tracks

For a man who takes only a few 60sec breathers during 25min of vicious combat, rest days are not days off. When hes not sparring, St Pierre hits the track instead, sprinting 400m intervals with 50m of walking recovery. It loosens your hips, making you more dynamic, and evacuates the lactic acid in your legs, he says. Its an effective way to rid yourself of soreness. But it will hurt like hell. Its the most painful exercise a human being can do.

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Never, ever train if you can\'t go all out

Commit

Sore legs are one thing, training injured is another. Early in my career I always overtrained, and thats why I got hurt all the time, says St Pierre. If you cant sleep at night because of nervous energy, or you wake up in the morning and your heart rate is higher than normal, its a sign youre going too hard. Slow down and let your body catch up, he says. Its far better to train less but do every exercise perfectly.\"

Efficiency is more deadly than effort

Fight smart

Eventually you reach a peak. Everybody in the UFC is in good shape but some fighters are more efficient than others. Thats why some guys get tired and I dont, St Pierre says. Tense your glutes before every big lift to instantly increase your power and up your weight. Even if I was getting beaten up I wouldnt fight any harder, explains St Pierre. I would try to fight smarter. In fighting, in evolution, in life  efficiency is the key.

Knowledge is the ultimate weapon

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In the moments after a UFC fight, St Pierre can be found on a mat backstage with his coach, running over any errors he made in the octagon. The more knowledge you get, and the more questions you ask, the more you realise what you are capable of, he says. From the cage to the gym, his point is the same: understand what went wrong to put it right. War is won by the strongest weapon, St Pierre says. Know that, and youre well armed for physical glory.

The materials in this website are in no way intended to replace the professional medical care, advice, diagnosis or treatment of a doctor, qualified personal trainer, therapist, dietician or nutritionist